Whole-Scalp Cobblestone Plica Neuropathica with Alopecia

Plica neuropathica (PN) is an uncommon scalp condition that usually presents as a compact mass of scalp hair. We report a case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with PN. She presented with a 40-year history of thick plaques of yellow scale afflicting the entire scalp, progressive alopecia, and seeming lack of care of her own condition. Histology showed epidermal nevus-like features and severe miniaturization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hydrodynamic Effects on Biofilm Development and Recombinant Protein Expression

Hydrodynamics play an important role in the rate of cell attachment and nutrient and oxygen transfer, which can affect biofilm development and the level of recombinant protein production. In the present study, the effects of different flow conditions on the development of Escherichia coli biofilms and the expression of a model recombinant protein (enhanced green fluorescent protein, eGFP) were examined. Planktonic and biofilm cells were grown at two different flow rates in a recirculating flow cell system for 7 days: 255 and 128 L h(-1) (corresponding to a Reynolds number of 4600 and 2300, respectively). The fluorometric analysis showed that the specific eGFP production was higher in biofilms than in planktonic cells under both hydrodynamic conditions (3-fold higher for 255 L h(-1) and 2-fold higher for 128 L h(-1)). In the biofilm cells, the percentage of eGFP-expressing cells was on average 52% higher at a flow rate of 255 L h(-1). Furthermore, a higher plasmid copy number (PCN) was obtained for the highest flow rate for both planktonic (244 PCN/cell versus 118 PCN/cell) and biofilm cells (43 PCN/cell versus 29 PCN/cell). The results suggested that higher flow velocities promoted eGFP expression in E. coli biofilms

A pilot study on fear and risk of fall: The impact of an8-month multicomponent exercise program in community-dwelling aged adults

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of an 8-month multicomponent exercise program in community-dwelling older adults. A comprehensive approach was employed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a thrice-weekly exercise intervention. Aged over 60 years, the capacity to stand and walk with or without assistive equipment, being physically inactive, medical clearance, and living in the community were all eligibility criteria. The Timed-up and Go test and Berg Balance Scale were used to examine risk of falling. The Fall-Efficacy Scale International was used to examine the fear of falling. The community-based exercise program involved thirty-five participants, the average age was 67.54 years (SD = 3.81) and 71% were female. At-tendance rates ranged from 76% to 100% on average. There was a significant trend toward a clinically important improvement in the timed-up and go test (t = 4.66; p < .001; d = 0.20), berg balance scale (t = -11.20; p < .001; d = 1.47) and fall-efficacy scale international (t = 5.81; p < .001; d = 0.88). This study has provided preliminary evidence that an 8-month community-based low-cost exercise program may be effective in improving agility, balance, and decreasing fear of falling in older people.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The effect of hydrodynamic conditions in Corynebacterium glutamicum growth

[Excerpt] Corynebacterium glutamicum is a facultative anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium with a GRAS status that grows fast and achieves high cell densities. C. glutamicum is commonly used in amino acids production, and is also able to convert sugars in organic acids (OA) and alcohols in specific conditions: anaerobic and limited-oxygen environments. In these conditions, the carbon metabolism is modified, namely the flux shifts from the pentose phosphate pathway to glycolysis and the TCA cycle flux decreases and consequently bacterial growth is strongly affected [1,2]. (...

The role of automatic shape and position recognitionin streamlining manufacturing

The main features of most components consist of simple basic functional geometries: planes, cylinders, spheres and cones. Shape and position recognition of these geometries is essential for dimensional characterization of components, and represent an important contribution in the life cycle of the product, concerning in particular the manufacturing and inspection processes of the final product. This work aims to establish an algorithm to automatically recognize such geometries, without operator intervention. Using differential geometry large volumes of data can be treated and the basic functional geometries to be dealt recognized. The original data can be obtained by rapid acquisition methods, such as 3D survey or photography, and then converted into Cartesian coordinates. The satisfaction of intrinsic decision conditions allows different geometries to be fast identified, without operator intervention. Since inspection is generally a time consuming task, this method reduces operator intervention in the process. The algorithm was first tested using geometric data generated in MATLAB and then through a set of data points acquired by measuring with a coordinate measuring machine and a 3D scan on real physical surfaces. Comparison time spent in measuring is presented to show the advantage of the method. The results validated the suitability and potential of the algorithm hereby proposedCMAT, the Research Centre of Mathematics of the University of Minho with the Portuguese Funds from the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”, through the Project PEstOE/MAT/UI0013/2014; MEtRICs – (Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center); CGIT - Centro de Gestão Industrial e da Tecnologi

A synthetic biology approach to engineer "therapeutic" bacteria

The high incidence and mortality of solid tumors like breast cancer makes the development of novel therapeutic agents a high priority. Curcumin, a natural substance from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, has captured the attention of the scientific community. Pre-clinical trials and extensive research has demonstrated its ability to prevent cancer. Indeed, curcumin has been shown to target critical genes involved in angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell cycle and metastasis, and consequently to inhibit cell growth. Currently, the clinical use of curcumin is mainly limited by its poor bioavailability which implies repetitive oral doses in order to achieve the therapeutic concentrations inside the cell. The idea of the present work is to design a strategy that could link the common technique used to treat solid tumors (ultrasound) with the therapeutic effects of curcumin. The plan is to use the temperature increase (consequence of ultrasound treatment) to trigger the in situ expression of curcumin by engineered bacteria. Escherichia coli was chosen as the model organism in which the genes involved in the curcumin pathway will be cloned. Those genes (4-coumarate: CoA ligase, diketide-CoA synthase and curcumin synthase) were successfully cloned under the control of a temperature sensitive promoter (dnaK). The proof-of-concept that the dnaK promoter can be induced by a temperature increase, leading to the expression of the 3 necessary genes, is currently being tested, using several biochemical assays. Moreover, several knockouts (KO) of specific genes from the E. coli K-12 MG1655 genome were performed in order to maximize the production of curcumin. The deletion strategy, as well as the definition of the non-essential genes to be KO, was determined in silico. This strategy included one single KO (gnd gene) and the multiple KO of five non-essential genes for aerobic growth (fumA, fumB, fumC, ccmA and argO) and serA gene for anaerobic growth. After optimizing the genes expression under the control of the temperature inducible promoter, the several KO will be transformed with this construction to confirm the improvement of curcumin production

MODELA DBT: Model-driven elaboration language applied to dynamic binary translation

Industrial solutions design is a highly complex topic due to the challenge of integrating multiple technologies into a single solution, the inherent complexity of the problems to be solved and also because the proposed solutions often require a great level of interoperability among their components and also the outside world. Dynamic Binary Translation has been used as a tool to deal with such interoperability issues, e.g., legacy support, virtualization and secure execution, among others. However its integration in the industry as an end-product is hampered by the intricate variability management required in this subject. To address these issues and in an attempt to power DBT utilization as an interoperability-providing tool, we propose a model-driven DSL modeling language for DBT architectures. The developed DSL proved to be efficient to model an in-house DBT engine, and MODELA DBT, a framework for ready-to-use DBT solutions was obtained. MODELA DBT provides design validation, easy configuration of customizable DBT parameters and components, as well as code generation features.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-Ol-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e figuration granularity, code generation efficiency and design verification. Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013. F. Salgado is supported by FCT (grant SFRH/BD/81681/2011)

An electromagnetic tracker system for the design of a dental superstructure

Nowadays, different techniques are available for manufacturing full-arch implant-supported prosthesis, many of them based on an impression procedure. Nevertheless, the long-term success of the prosthesis is highly influenced by the accuracy during such process, being affected by factors such as the impression material, implant position, angulation and depth. This paper investigates the feasibility of a 3D electromagnetic motion tracking system as an acquisition method for modeling such prosthesis. To this extent, we propose an implant acquisition method at the patient mouth, using a specific prototyped tool coupled with a tracker sensor, and a set of calibration procedures (for distortion correction and tool calibration), that ultimately obtains combined measurements of the implant's position and angulation, and eliminating the use of any impression material. However, in the particular case of the evaluated tracking system, the order of magnitude of the obtained errors invalidates its use for this specific application.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia in the scope of the Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/68270/2010 and the project EXPL/BBB-BMD/2146/2013

A dynamical model for the fermentative production of fructooligosaccharides

In this paper a detailed mathematical model is presented for the fermentative production of fructo-oligosaccharides with Aspergillus sp. The model accounts for hydrolysis and transfructolization reactions, as well as biomass formation and it contains 27 parameters that were determined from experimental data using a System Biology toolbox with the Simulated Annealing method for curve fitting. Several additional experiments were performed in bioreactors where the time variation of 7 state variables (Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, 1-Kestose, Nystose, 1-fructosyl nystose and Biomass) was measured. Experimental data were compared with results from simulations using the estimated parameters and it was verified that the model can predict the FOS production profile. The good agreement between simulated and experimental data was verified by calculating the relative percentage deviation modulus, which was lower than 10% for all cases except one. The derived and validated model can be used for process optimization, for example for indicating which fed-batch strategy could be used to improve the production of FOS while minimizing glucose concentration

Electromagnetic tracker feasibility in the design of a dental superstructure for edentulous patients

The success of the osseointegration concept and the Branemark protocol is highly associated to the accuracy in the production of an implant-supported prosthesis. One of most critical steps for long-term success of these prosthesis is the accuracy obtained during the impression procedure, which is affected by factors such as the impression material, implant position, angulation and depth. This paper investigates the feasibility of 3D electromagnetic motion tracking systems as an acquisition method for modeling full-arch implant-supported prosthesis. To this extent, we propose an implant acquisition method at the patient mouth and a calibration procedure, based on a 3D electromagnetic tracker that obtains combined measurements of implant's position and angulation, eliminating the use of any impression material. Three calibration algorithms (namely linear interpolation, higher-order polynomial and Hardy multiquadric) were tested to compensate for the electromagnetic tracker distortions introduced by the presence of nearby metals. Moreover, implants from different suppliers were also tested to study its impact on tracking accuracy. The calibration methodology and the algorithms employed proved to implement a suitable strategy for the evaluation of novel dental impression techniques. However, in the particular case of the evaluated electromagnetic tracking system, the order of magnitude of the obtained errors invalidates its use for the full-arch modeling of implant-supported prosthesis.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia in the scope of the Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/68270/2010 and the project EXPL/BBB-BMD/2146/2013